From The Straits Times    |


HAINANESE CHICKEN RICE DUMPLING
$8.80 per piece. From Park P
alace (Mezzanine Floor) at Grand Park City Hall, 10 Coleman Street. Available from 18 May to 20 June. Call 6432-5543 or email parkpalace.gpch@parkhotelgroup.com to make your reservations.

Inspired by one of our iconic local dishes, the rice in this dumpling is tasty and fragrant. The thigh meat, while tender, is slightly dry, and best eaten with the chilli sauce, and ginger and chives sauce – both made in-house – to replicate the flavours of your favourite plate of chicken rice.


VEGETARIAN 5-GRAIN RICE DUMPLING
$9 per piece, $96 for a premium box of eight pieces.
From Wan Hao Chinese Restaurant (Level 3) at Singapore Marriot Tang Plaza Hotel, 320 Orchard Road. Available from 1 to 30 June 2015. Call 6831-4605 or visit singaporemarriott.com/dining to make your reservations.

Chock-full of healthy morsels like brown rice, sorghum rice, oats, barley, pearl rice, carrots, black fungus, braised peauts, cabbage and vegetarian bak kwa, this wholesome rice dumpling boasted great texture in every bite. It’s a sweet, rather than savoury, dumpling, but doesn’t have any of the guilt normally associated with the guilty pleasure of eating bak chang.


BLACK TRUFFLE WITH PORK BELLY & DRIED SCALLOPS
$18 per piece, $168 for a premium box of eight pieces. Also from Wan Hao Chinese Restaurant.

While the rice was slightly mushy, the rich, appetising flavours of the braised pork belly and dried scallops more than made up for it. The pork belly was succulent and well-stewed; the dried scallops added a nice umami touch to the overall taste of the rice dumpling.  

ABALONE STEAMED RICE DUMPLING
$38 per piece. From Summer Palace (Level 3) at Regent Singapore, 1 Cuscaden Road. Available from 13 to 20 June. Call 6725-3288/9 or email summerpalace.rsn@fourseasons.com to make your reservations.

Well-cooked and generously stuffed with black mushrooms, chestnuts, green beans, dried scallops, roast duck and salted egg yolk, this rice dumpling comes with a whole abalone in a delicious abalone sauce. We recommend that you eat each mouthful with the sauce for a delightful burst of flavours.


STEAMED MULTI-GRAIN RICE DUMPLING WITH BEEF
$36 per piece. From Li Bai Cantonese Restaurant at
Sheraton Towers Singapore, 39 Scotts Road. Available from 1 to 20 June. Call 6839-5623 or email libai@sheratonsingapore.com to make your reservation.

You might do a double-take at the idea of using beef instead of pork in a rice dumpling. But trust us, this bold move paid off – the chunk of beef was tender, and added a lovely, meatier flavour to the dumpling. With assorted beans, multi-grain rice, mushrooms and chestnuts, this dumpling is jam-packed with healthful goodness.


BRAISED PORK BELLY WITH BLACK GARLIC DUMPLING
$14.75
(nett) per piece for takeaway; $13.80++ per piece for dine-in. From Min Jiang at Goodwood Park Hotel, 22 Scotts Road and Min Jiang at One-North, No. 5 Rochester Park. Available from 1 to 20 June. Call 6730-1704 (Min Jiang)/ 6774-0122 (Min Jiang at One-North) or email min_jiang@goodwoodparkhotel.com (Min Jiang)/ mj1n@goodwoodparkhotel.com (Min Jiang at One-North) to make your reservations.

Known for its antioxidant properties, the use of black garlic in this rice dumpling – besides lending it ‘superfood’ status – added a sweet, caramel-ly depth of flavour. Coupled with the pork belly, chestnuts and salted egg yolk, you’ll love each flavoursome mouthful.  


FIVE GRAIN PORK GLUTINOUS RICE DUMPLING IN HOMETOWN STYLE
$9.80 per piece. From Jade Restaurant at The Fullerton Hotel,
1 Fullerton Square. Available 1 to 20 June. Call 6877-8188 or email jade@fullertonhotel.com to make your reservation.

One for the health-conscious, this nutritious rice dumpling is filled with a medley of fiber-rich ingredients, such as brown rice, red beans, barley and black glutinous rice. Savoury, meaty chunks of diced pork, mushrooms, chestnuts and salted egg yolk added a nice bite. It’s a tad salty, but all the ingredients are well-cooked.  


SPICY SAMBAL CHILLIL MARINATED CHICKEN WITH TURMERIC GLUTINOUS RICE DUMPLING
$9.80 per piece. Also from Jade Restaurant.

Tender pieces of chicken, shiitake mushrooms, black-eyed peas and black sesame are enveloped in this yellow-hued rice dumpling, courtesy of the turmeric powder, drawn from Nonya cuisine. The rice is perfectly solid and sticky – but not slimy – and went very well with the fiery housemade sambal chilli.